Days of Shade and Sunlight

Three overlaying realities struggle to find common ground

Episode 2 "The Five Trials"

10

SEP/09

The players receive their individual living spaces in the form of circular rooms with wooden floors and platforms leading out to stonework balconies. Colin and Charles use the power of their imagination to create their own personal looks and additions one being a bar for Colin’s room and the other a Martial Arts Dojo for Charles’s. They are both introduced to their new companion and long time apprentice of Windem Haas, a very beautiful but potentially dangerous beauty by the name of Emma Birkin. Part Succubus and Part Siren weaker men fall easily to Her charms and now reformed through the intervention of Windem She has become a permanent fixture of the Tower of the Sunlight. Taking Her role as “Substitute” mentor somewhat seriously Emma cracks the whip so to speak and flirts easily with both the mutant Colin and the technomancer Charles as she directs them to the Tower’s roof and the specifics of the “Five Quest Trials” that they both have been assigned. Taking a seat at the large stone table where meals and afternoon teas are usually enjoyed the two men receive a book outlining each quest and suddenly there is a very large chest sitting in the middle of the roof’s expanse. Tow large ornate handles jutting out from the side of its lid and a very strange gargoyle type face etched upon the front make this dark chest of wonder something very odd indeed.

The book before each of them outlines the specifics of each quest and the pair decide to undertake the fifth trial “Origins of the Past” and upon gripping each side of the large chest by its handles they signify that they are ready to begin. Each one takes a turn visiting a moment in the past of the others lives learning more information about each other in the process. Charles visits the 15th birthday of Colin to discover this is only days after the demise of His parents in a Belfast explosion. He finds out that Colin was already an accomplished boxer winning the under sixteen championship. He also learns that Colin has two siblings one of which exhibits some sort of strange ability unbeknownst to Colin who stormed out that day to never return home out of anger and sadness of His parents death and having had a poor relationship with His Father. Colin’s super speed ability was also manifested this day when he demolished the stairs and part of the front door on His way out. Charles observed this all in an unseen ghostly form. Colin ventured into the past of Charles and to the day He was asked by his now late Mentor to become an apprentice to the ways of Technomancy. Colin observed how powerful a mage this Mentor figure was after some morphing of a old model personal organizer into a modern touch screen device with the wave of His hand. He then observed a would be pickpocket snatch the Mentor’s amulet onto to be rendered completely helpless by some type of strange device that attached itself to the man’s neck. Making this man a puppet for the Mentor who informed Him it was time to give up His life of crime and join the police force. There was a strange woman tailing the two of them that day wearing red and black and using a strange ring to phase in and out of existence. Charles was not aware of this fact and each man had indeed learned something about the other that was new to them when they swapped information and successfully completed the first trial. Seemingly as if they were long term teammates Colin and Charles moved from one trial to another completing all five within the span of a single afternoon.

The remaining quests consisted of saving lives, critical thinking and choosing the correct chests to open as well as a one on one arena battle to prove mastery over their individual powers. The quest that truly stood out in the end was that of combining each others abilities to create three new attacks. The elemental technomancy of Charles mixed exceedingly well with the elemental controls of Colin to create ground spikes, electrical punches and projectile shards of ice driven forward by Colin’s thunder clap ability. When all of the quests had been completed Emma directed both of their attention to the replacement of the one largest mahogany chest with 10 smaller ones of different colours. These were magically transported to each of their private quarters within the Tower and the two retired for the evening to rest up for the next days events. Upon waking the next day they went through their chests to receive their rewards and soon after took a short guided tour of the Tower of the Sunlight with Emma where they learned of their own practice as well as personal floors in addition to their private rooms. Truly the Tower provided all they could want or need.